At a General Assembly held at New Bern the Twenty Eighth Day of June, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty Six. Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor.

CHAPTER I.

An Act for the Better regulating the Militia of this Government.

I. Whereas the Safety of this, as well as all other well governed Colonies, greatly depends on the well Regulating the Militia thereof,

II. We pray your Most Sacred Majesty that it may be Enacted, And be it Enacted by his Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council, and the General Assembly of this Province, and by the Authority of the same, That from henceforward, the Militia of this Government shall consist of all the Freemen and Servants within the same, between the Age of Sixteen Years and Sixty; and the several Captains of the Militia in this Province, shall within Four Months next after the Publication of this Act, take the List of the Names of all such Freemen and Servants, within the Districts of which their several Companies shall consist, and return a Copy thereof to the Colonel of the Regiment, under the Penalty of Ten Pounds, Proclamation Money; to be levied by a Warrant from such Colonel, to be applied as hereinafter is directed.

III. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That when such Lists are taken as aforesaid, the said Captain shall, once every Year from henceforward, viz.: in the Month of October, take new Lists of all the Freemen and Servants in their said several Districts, and return Copies thereof, as before directed, under the like Penalty of Ten Pounds; to be levied and applied as hereafter in this Act is directed.

IV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That any Person or Persons, after having been so inlisted, who shall at any Time hereafter (unless rendered incapable by Sickness or Accident), fail or refuse, on Notice given, to appear, at such Times and Places within the County, as shall from Time to Time, be appointed, by the Colonel or Commanding Officer of the Regiment to which he belongs, for that Purpose, there to be mustered, trained, and exercised in Arms, or that shall not at such Times and Places, be well provided with a Gun, fit for service, a Cartouch Box, and a Sword, Cutlass, or Hanger, and at least Twelve Charges of Powder and Bail, or Swan Shot, and Six Spare Flints, shall forfeit and pay, for his Non-Appearance, the Sum of Five Shillings and Four Pence, Proclamation Money; and in Case they do appear, they shall forfeit and pay Two Shillings and Eight Pence, like Money, for Want of any of the Arms, Accoutrements, or Ammunition as aforesaid; to be levied by a Warrant from the Captain of the Company, directed to the Serjeant of the same, who shall make return thereof to the Captain; which Serjeant shall be paid two Shillings, Proclamation Money, by the Offender, for serving the same: And in Case such Serjeant or Serjeants shall refuse or neglect to serve any Warrant or Warrants to him or them so directed, he or they, on Refusal

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or Neglect thereof, shall be Fined five Pounds, Proclamation Money; to be recovered by a Warrant from the Captain, directed to any other Serjeant, under the same Penalty; to be applied as other Fines in this Act are directed and appointed: Provided that no Person shall incur the Penalty for appearing in the Field without a Cartouch Box, or Cutlass, Sword, or Hanger, Until the Expiration of Six Months, after the Ratification of this Act.

V. Provided always, That no Minister of the Church of England, no Member of His Majesty's Council, no Member of Assembly, Secretary, Attorney General, practising Attorney, no Man who has been a Field Officer, or Captain of the Militia of this Province, or Commissioned Officers which have served in the Army, no Justice of the Peace, no practising Physician, Chirurgeon, no Clerks of the Courts of Justice, no Persons tending Public Mills, or Ferries, shall be obliged to inlist themselves, or attend such Musters as aforesaid.

VI. And be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That in Case of any Invasion of this Province, or Expedition to be carried on against an Enemy within the Province, it shall and may be Lawful for the Governor or Commander in Chief, to raise all, or so many of the Forces of this Government, as he shall think necessary, for opposing the said Invasion, or supporting the said Expedition; and any Person whatsoever, who shall refuse or neglect, on Notice or Alarm given, to appear at such Times and Places as shall be appointed by his Captain, or other Officer, with Arms, Ammunition and Accoutrements, as aforesaid, or shall refuse to march against the Enemy where Commanded, within this Province, or refuse any other Duty the Defence of the Country may require, shall forfeit and pay for either of the said Offences, Ten Pounds, Proclamation Money, to be levied by a Warrant from the Colonel or Commanding Officer for that Service; And that the respective Officers to whom such Invasion shall be first made known, are hereby authorized to command and order the Men under their Command, to mount Guard, march against the Enemy, and do any other Duty as the Defence of the Country may require, and continue the Alarm until the same is made known to their superior Officers.

VII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That in Case of any Invasion of the Province of Virginia, or South Carolina, it shall and may be lawful for the Governor and Commander in Chief for the Time being, to raise so many of the Forces of this Government as shall be thought necessary to give proper relief to such of the Provinces aforesaid as shall be invaded, and to march them to their Assistance, at the Expence of the Province desiring such Assistance; which Number of Forces shall be draughted out of the several Regiments of this Province, and each Regiment to furnish a proportionable Number of Men, so to be draughted and sent to the neighbouring Colony.

VIII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the respective Officers of the Militia, and the private Men, when in actual Service, shall, from the Day they are ordered on Duty be paid according to the Rates following, to-wit:

PROCLAMATION MONEY.

£

s.

d.

A Colonel, per Day

0

12

6

A Lieutenant Colonel

0

10

0

A Major

0

10

0

A Captain

0

7

0

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An Adjutant

0

7

0

A Lieutenant, and Chirurgeon, each

0

5

0

An Ensign

0

4

6

A Serjeant

0

4

0

A Corporal, and Drummer, each

0

3

6

Every Private Man

0

3

0

IX. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That if any Person shall be so disabled in the Service of the Country, as not to maintain himself or pay for his Cure, he shall be cured at the Public Charge, and have one good Negro Man purchased for, and given to him, at the charge of the Public, for his Maintenance; and if any one shall be killed, the Public shall make the same Provision for his Wife or Family.

X. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That such Persons who by this Act are exempt from enlisting themselves or appearing at Musters, shall be ready, at all Time of Danger, (Sickness or Accident always excepted), to attend the Commands of the Governor or Commander in Chief for the Time being, within this Province, compleatly furnished with Arms and Ammunition, as aforesaid, on Penalty of Twenty Pounds, Proclamation Money, to be levied by a Warrant from the Colonel, directed to the Sheriff of the said County, who shall return the same, together with the aforesaid Fine, under the Penalty of Forty Pounds, Proclamation Money, to be recovered by the said Colonel, by Action of Debt, in the General Court of this Province.

XI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That if, during the Time of Muster, any Soldier shall resist his lawful Officer, or refuse to obey his lawful Commands, such Soldier shall be punished, at the Discretion of the Captain, with the Lieutenant or Ensign, by being tied Neck and Heels, piquetted, or riding the Wooden Horse: And if any Person, upon Duty, during the Time of any Alarm, Invasion or Expedition, against the Enemy, shall desert his Colours, or be mutinous, it shall and may be lawful for one Field-Officer, or more, Four Captains, Four Lieutenants, and Three Ensigns, or the Majority of them, with one Field-Officer, openly to hold a Court-Martial, first taking the Oath usually taken at Court-Martials, and on Tryal and Conviction, to punish the Offender according to Martial Law, as the Nature of the Crime shall require and for want of a sufficient Number of Officers to compose a Court-Martial, the Offender shall be kept under a Guard until such Time as there be a sufficient Number of Officers to hold a Court Martial as aforesaid.

XII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Captains shall apply all fines received, and hereafter to be received, by them towards purchasing Drums, Colours, and other Implements of War, or Ammunition, for and to the Use of the Company whereof he is Captain; and shall also account on Oath, once every Year, with the Colonel or Commanding Officer of the County, for all such Fines received, or that he shall or may receive, in Virtue of this Act; and that no Captain shall, hereafter, compound for any Fine hereafter accruing due, under the Penalty of Ten Pounds, Proclamation Money; to be recovered by a Warrant from such Colonel or Commanding Officer, as hereinbefore directed, and such Colonel or Commanding Officer shall make a Report thereof to the Captain General or Commander in Chief for the Time being.

XIII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Colonels of each and every Regiment of this Province, shall, once every Year cause a General Muster to be made of their respective Regiments, at

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such Times and Places within each several County, as they shall think proper to appoint; which, if any of them shall neglect or refuse to do, he or they so offending, shall forfeit and pay the Sum of Twenty Pounds, Proclamation Money; to be recovered by a Warrant from his Excellency the Governor or Commander in Chief for the Time being, and to be applied to the Uses aforementioned in this Act.

XIV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That every Captain of a Company shall Four Times every Year, at such Times and Places within their several Districts, as their respective Colonels shall appoint, muster their Companies, and see that every Soldier in their Company be furnished with such Arms, Accoutrements, and Ammunition, as by this Act before is directed, under the Penalty of Five Pounds, Proclamation Money; to be levied by a Warrant from the Colonel or Commanding Officer in the County, and to be applied as hereinbefore is directed.

XV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That each and every Company belonging to the several Regiments within this Province shall consist of Fifty private Men, Three Serjeants, Five Corporals, and Two Drummers.

XVI. And be it further Enacted, That the several Colonels of their respective Regiments within this Province, are hereby authorized to apply the Fines and Penalties by them received, in Virtue of this Act, in purchasing Drums, Colours, Ammunition, and Arms, as shall appear to them to be most necessary for the Companies in such Regiments; and that they shall annually render an Account to his Excellency the Governor, sworn before, and certified by any Justice of the Peace in the County, under the Penalty of Fifty Pounds, Proclamation Money, to be recovered by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint, or Information, in the General Court of this Province (wherein no Essoign, Injunction, or Wager of Law, shall be allowed or admitted of), by any person who will sue for the same, and the one half to him or them who shall sue for the same, the other half to be applied as the other Fines in this Act are directed.

XVII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That in Case the Governor or Commander in Chief for the Time being shall, at any Time hereafter, appoint any Troop or Troops of Light Horse, in any County in this Province, that then, and in such Case, the said Troop or Troops that shall be so appointed, are hereby exempt from mustering in any of the Foot Companies within their several Counties, and shall be Accoutred with a good Case of Pistols, a Broad Sword, a Fuzee, with Swivel and Belt, a Cartridge Box, with Twenty Four Cartridges of Powder and Ball, and subject to the muster at the same Times and under the same Penalties as before by this Act is directed for the Foot.

XVIII. And be it further Enacted, by Authority aforesaid, That this Act shall be and continue in Force for and during Three Years, and from thence to the next Session of Assembly.

XIX. And be it Enacted, That each and every Captain of a Company shall procure a Copy of this Act, for which he shall be allowed in his accounting for the Fines and Forfeitures by him received, or to be received, and shall cause the same to be read at the Head of his Company at least once in every Year; under the Penalty of Five Pounds, Proclamation Money.

XX. And be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That from and after the Ratification of this Act, all and every Act and Acts for regulating the Militia of this Government, and all Matters and Things therein contained, is and are hereby repealed and made void.

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CHAPTER II.

An Act for erecting the upper Part of Craven County into a County and Parish, and for appointing a Place for building a Court-house, Prison and Stocks in the said County.

I. Whereas Craven County is now become so very Extensive that many of the Inhabitants thereof live very remote from New Bern Town, where the Court for the said County is held, whereby a great many Difficulties and Hardships arise to the upper Inhabitants thereof, not only in attending their Ordinary Business in the said Court, but also being compelled to serve as Jurymen, and oftentimes as Evidences, at the said Court: For Remedy whereof,

II. We pray that it may be Enacted, And be it Enacted, by his Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor, by and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council, and General Assembly of this Province, and it is hereby Enacted, by the Authority of the same, That Craven County be divided by a Line beginning at the Mouth of the Southwest Creek, on the South Side of Neuse River, below Francis Stringer's Ferry, running up the said Creek as far as the aforesaid County extends that Way, and running a North Line from the Mouth of the said Southwest Creek as far as the County extends Northwardly; and that the upper Part of the said County be erected into a County by the Name of Johnston County, and St. Patrick's Parish, as divided by a Line that shall be agreed on by the Commissioners hereafter named: And that the said County and Parish shall enjoy all the Privileges and Advantages that any other County and Parish in this Province holds or enjoys, save only that the said County shall send but Two Representatives to sit in the General Assembly.

III. And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That the Courts of the said County shall be held on the last Tuesdays in the Month of March, June, September and December in every Year.

IV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the said County, or the Majority of them, shall hold their first Court at the Dwelling-house of Francis Stringer, at the Ferry, on Neuse River, and then and there nominate and appoint a certain Place for building a Courthouse, Prison and Stocks at the most proper Place in the said County, and shall also make such Orders and Rules for erecting the said Buildings and running the dividing Line aforesaid, at the proper and equal Expence of the Inhabitants of the same by a Poll-Tax not exceeding Two Shillings, Proclamation Money, per Year, for Two Years, and no longer.

V. And be it further Enacted, That William Eaton, William Persons, Francis Stringer and James Macklewean be, and are hereby appointed Commissioners, and are hereby impowered and directed to run a dividing Line between the Counties of Granville and Johnston, as agreeable as may be for the ease and Convenience of the several Inhabitants of the said Counties, beginning at such Place on the Head Line aforesaid of Edgecomb County as the said Commissioners shall think meet and just.

VI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Court shall, at the first sitting thereof, recommend to his Excellency the Governor Three Persons for his Approbation of one of them to execute the Office of a Sheriff, according to Law, for the said County.

VII. And to the End that no Action begun in Craven County be defeated by the Division aforesaid, Be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Action is already commenced in the said Court of Craven, and

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that the Parties or Evidences shall be Inhabitants of Johnston County, all subsequent Process against such Parties or Evidences shall be directed to be Executed by the Sheriff of Craven County; any Law, Usage or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

VIII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That Simon Bright, John Herring, Sen., Thomas McClendon, John Beeton, Abraham Boyd, Ambrose Airis, John Irons, John Carraway, John Smith, Samuel Smith, Robert Rayford and John Beaker be, and they are hereby appointed Vestrymen of the said Parish of St. Patrick's, to serve in the Vestry until the General Election of Vestrymen, according to Law; and that the said Vestrymen shall be summoned by the Sheriff of the said County of Johnston to meet at the Place appointed by this Act where the Court is to be held, and qualify themselves as a Vestry, and proceed to Parish Business.

IX. And be it further Enacted, That all Public, County and Parish Levies now due from any of the Inhabitants of the said County of Johnston shall be collected by the Sheriff of Craven County and accounted for in the same Manner as though this Act had not been made.

CHAPTER III.

An Act for dividing Edgecomb County and Parish, and for erecting the upper Part thereof into a County and Parish by the Name of Granville County and St. John's Parish; and for appointing Vestrymen for the said Parish.

I. Whereas the County and Parish of Edgecomb, being a Frontier County, is now so extensively settled that the Public Business of the said County and Parish becomes very difficult to be transacted:

II. We therefore pray that it may be Enacted, And be it Enacted, by his Excellency Gabriel Johnston, Esq., Governor, By and with the Advice and Consent of his Majesty's Council, and General Assembly of this Province, and by the Authority of the same, That Edgecomb County and Parish be divided by a Line beginning at the Mouth of Stonehouse Creek, on Roanoke River, to the Mouth of Cypress Swamp, on Tar River, and from Thence across the River, in a direct Course, to the Middle Grounds between Tar River and Neuse River, being the dividing Line between Craven and Edgecomb Counties; and that the upper Part of the said County and Parish, as divided by the Line that shall be agreed on by the Commissioners hereafter named, be erected into a County by the Name of Granville County, and St. John's Parish: And that the said County and Parish shall enjoy as many privileges as any other County or Parish in this Province holds and enjoys, save only that the said County shall send but Two Representatives to sit in General Assembly.

III. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Courts of the said County shall be held on every Tuesday succeeding the County Courts of Northampton.

IV. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the Justices of the said County, or the Majority of them, shall hold their first Court at the Dwelling-house of William Eaton, and then and there nominate and appoint a certain Place for building a Court-house, Prison and Stocks, at the most proper Place in the said County; and shall also make such Orders and Rules for erecting the said Buildings and running the dividing Line aforesaid, at the proper and equal Expence of the Inhabitants of the same, by a

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Poll-Tax not exceeding Two Shillings, Proclamation Money, per Year, for Two Years and no longer.

V. And be it further Enacted, That William Eaton, William Person, Francis Stringer and James Macklewean be, and are hereby appointed Commissioners; who are hereby impowered and directed to run a dividing line between the said Counties of Granville and Johnston, as agreeable as may be for the Ease and Convenience of the several Inhabitants of the said Counties, beginning at such a Place on the Head Line aforesaid of Edgecomb County as the said Commissioners shall think meet and just.

VI. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That the said Court shall, at the first sitting thereof, recommend to his Excellency the Governor, Three Persons for his Approbation of one of them to execute the Office of Sheriff, according to the Law, for the said County.

VII. And to the End that no Action begun in Edgecomb County Court be defeated by the Division aforesaid, Be it Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That where any Action is already commenced in the said Court of Edgecomb, and the Parties or Evidences shall be Inhabitants of Granville County, all subsequent Process against such Parties or Evidences shall be directed to be executed by the Sheriff of Edgecomb County; any Act, Law, Usage or Custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

VIII. And be it further Enacted, by the Authority aforesaid, That William Eaton, William Persons, John Martin, Edward Jones, James Mitchel, James Payne, West Harris, John Wade, William Moore, Samuel Lanier, Robert Parker and Joseph Sims be, and they are hereby appointed Vestrymen of the said Parish of St. John's, to serve in Vestry until the General Election of Vestrymen, according to Law, and that the said Vestrymen shall be summoned by the Sheriff of the said County of Granville to meet at the House of William Eaton and qualify themselves as a Vestry, and proceed to parish Business.

IX. And be it further Enacted, That all Public, County and Parish Levies now due from any of the Inhabitants of the said County of Granville shall be collected by the Sheriff of Edbecomb County and accounted for in the same Manner as though this Act had not been made.